PAST EVENTS
Art and Activism in Amsterdam with Ai Weiwei
The Common Good offered an extraordinary opportunity in Amsterdam with one of the world’s most important living artists/dissidents, Ai Weiwei. He discussed the artist’s responsibility in this new age.
The Common Good offered an extraordinary opportunity in Amsterdam with one of the world’s most important living artists/dissidents, Ai Weiwei. He discussed the artist’s responsibility in this new age. Ai Weiwei is one of the world’s most prominent contemporary artists and a renowned political activist. Dictatorship, human rights abuses, damage to the environment, the suffering of refugees – in his work, Ai Weiwei uncompromisingly addresses the most urgent issues facing the world today. His political activism and creative brilliance made him one of the world’s most appreciated and relevant artists, at great personal risk: he was arrested, had his passport confiscated and his studio destroyed by the authorities.
This was made possible with a partnership with the Nexus Institute and Nexus Institute President Rob Riemen.
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist and activist. His activity as a dissident has gone hand in hand with his artistic career and he has continued to produce work testifying to his political beliefs while at the same time making plenty of room for creativity and experimentation. (1)
After returning to China from his studies abroad, Ai contributed to the establishment of Beijing’s East Village, a community of avant-garde artists. In 1997, he co-founded the China Art Archives & Warehouse (CAAW), one of the first independent art spaces in China. In 2003, Ai started his own architecture practice, FAKE Design. In 2007, as a participant of documenta 12, Ai brought 1001 Chinese citizens to Kassel as part of his Fairytale project. In 2008, Ai and the Swiss architecture team of Herzog and de Meuron designed the Beijing National Stadium. Recently, Ai Weiwei’s film Human Flow participed in the 74th Venice International Film Festival. (1)
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(1) Material from the Galleria Continua website.
Water Conference in Paris
The Common Good was proud to assemble a delegation to join the international Conference on Water in Paris in partnership with the Netanya Academic College with the cooperation of European Leadership Network (ELNET), France-Israel Foundation (FIF), French-American Chamber of Commerce (FACC) and Veolia Environment S.A.
The Common Good was proud to assemble a delegation to join the international Conference on Water in Paris in partnership with the Netanya Academic College with the cooperation of European Leadership Network (ELNET), France-Israel Foundation (FIF), French-American Chamber of Commerce (FACC) and Veolia Environment S.A.
The conference was dedicated to advancing cutting-edge technological water solutions through regional and global cooperation in scarce water environments with an emphasis on Middle East water cooperation and issues. This important conversation on solutions to the impending water crisis and discover the innovative ways to tackle this threat brought forth leading scientists, officials, and organizations who are on the frontlines of this issue.
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The Common Good Trip to Selma, Alabama
The Common Good took a delegation to Selma, Alabama for the 50th Anniversary of the historic March on Selma, marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, listening to President Obama’s speech and greeting various leaders and civil rights figures of the past and present from Congressman John Lewis, Jesse Jackson, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Amelia Boynton, Kevin McCarthy, and many others.
The Common Good took a small delegation to Selma, Alabama for the 50th Anniversary of the historic March on Selma. We are proud that our group was able to participate in the incredible weekend honoring the now unforgettable march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Many of you have probably seen the Oscar-nominated film, Selma, but our group was lucky enough to retrace some of the courageous steps of the civil rights movement and the march that changed the righted so many wrongs.
Our journey began in Birmingham, with a tour of the city’s civil rights sites and, later, TCG members dined with a very special guest: Sarah Collins Rudolph. Rudolph was only 12 years old standing next to her sister in the 16th Street Church at the time of its horrific bombing by white supremacists in 1963. Sarah’s sister, Addie Mae, was one of the four children who died in the bombing. Sarah suffered grievously with the loss of her eye and other injuries that kept her hospitalized for months. Though emotionally scarred, Sarah was brave enough to share her story with our group.
On Saturday we made our way to Selma. From our sun-drenched seats close to President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, former President George Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush, with a view of the bridge as a backdrop, we listened to President Obama’s speech and were able to greet various leaders and civil rights figures of the past and present including Congressman John Lewis, Jesse Jackson, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Amelia Boynton, and Kevin McCarthy. We then enjoyed a lunch hosted by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund at the Brown Chapel AME Church. On Sunday morning we stopped at Brown Chapel where Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Al Sharpton, Sean Donovan, and Sherilynn Ifill were speaking. We then took a brief tour of Montgomery, stopping at the First Baptist Church, site of Freedom Riders meetings during the Montgomery bus boycott sparked by Rosa Parks’s civil disobedience, and at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, a historical landmark in which Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor and where he helped to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
While each and every member of our group contributed to the overall experience, we owe a special debt to our Event Chair, Charles Atkins, who treated us with lunch at Brown Chapel; set up our participation in Saturday’s dinner honoring Jesse Jackson, Dorothy Cotton, Danny Glover and others; and organized as best as one could to provide access to the church service on Sunday in Selma. Special thanks to Patricia Duff for getting tickets from the White House for the President’s speech and for setting up our meeting with civil rights activists: songwriter Mike Stoller (Stand By Me, On Broadway, and many others hits) and storied jazz musician Corky Hale Stoller. Another “Thank you” to Jerry Leichtling.
And very special thanks to our staff, particularly Serena Sharma, for setting up much of the details and logistics, and to Joel Strauss for keeping us on the road in Alabama.
Our trip to Selma was a powerful reminder of the sacrifices and struggles for millions of Americans to gain rights easily taken for granted by others. There are many bridges to cross to guarantee all Americans their full rights and freedoms, but we will always remember Selma.
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The Common Good Trip to Cuba
We are thrilled that we offered our first trip with The Common Good, we traveled to Cuba with travel experts. The trip included visits to the Bay of Pigs, Hemingway’s home, cultural, political and economic highlights in Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad and other important places of interest.
We are thrilled that we offered our first trip with The Common Good, we traveled to Cuba with travel experts. The trip included visits to the Bay of Pigs, Hemingway’s home, cultural, political and economic highlights in Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad and other important places of interest.
On October 28, 2011, Californians Building Bridges (CBB) was granted a license by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control, License # CT-18210, to travel and engage in travel-related transactions directly related to educational exchange activities that will result in meaningful interaction between the travelers and individuals in Cuba. CBB was founded on the principle of joining together communities and providing greater opportunities to those who are economically deprived by emerging cultures, socio-economic, and religious backgrounds. Attendees traveled under this license during your trip and participated in a full-time schedule of educational activities.
CBB scheduled daily activities that gave insight into the local customs, history, and politics that shape the lives of the Cuban people. These activities included language lessons, salsa classes, guest speakers, and field trips to local areas of interest, such as Hemmingway’s home. The group had an opportunity to visit a cigar factory, the Rum and Fine Arts Museums, local artist’s homes, and the Tropicana Cabaret.
Trip includes the following and more:
Coordination of full-time daily program and volunteer activities
6 nights of accommodation in a 5-star Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Visit to cigar factory, Rum Museum, Fine Arts Museum, Morro Castle, and Tropicana Cabaret
Transportation by luxury air-conditioned motor coach and local guide.
Round-trip air transportation from Miami to Havana
Pre-departure briefing
Gratuities to local guides and driver
Travel license, visa and health insurance
Not Included:
Passport
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
Checked baggage fees and airport taxes
Transportation between New York and Miami
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The Common Good has been hosting events since 2006 that cover important issues of today, highlighting speakers who have worked to bolster our democracy and can provide great insight on the issues that matter.